The Ace and the Lion Chapter 3:The Search
Well, it seems that nobody's interested in this story which really sucks :(
If nobody responds after this chapter then I guess I'm gonna have to do what I was hoping I wouldn't have to...which would be to stop this story and remove it and forget it ever happened. I'm begging you all, I really love this story and I hate to stop something that I've already started. Please don't force me to end it like this!
Anyways enough begging and pleading, here comes the next chapter. You guys decide whether its the last one or not.
DISCLAIMER:All characters and names associated with Final Fantasy X and VIII belong to SquareSoft.
"Well, since we haven't been able to find them in the immediate area, I think we should probably use the airship and go get Rikku to help us." Tidus said. Yuna nodded and Squall scratched his head. "Who's Rikku?" He turned to Tidus. Tidus pointed at Yuna. "My best friend and Yuna's cousin, she's an Al Bhed." He explained. Squall nodded. He had heard of the Al Bhed but had never met one yet. "So how are we gonna get to Luca?" Tidus asked. Yuna smiled and reached into her shirt. "I came prepared." She grinned as she pulled out a little beacon and she pushed the button on the top of it. A red light started flashing on the top and it made a beeping noise. "What was the point of that?" Tidus asked. "It's a beacon for the airship, so the closest airship in the area can come get me." She explained. "Being a High Summoner has it's advantages." She added. Squall was impressed. "Wait a minute....I heard of you destrying Sin...but I've never heard of a living High Summoner. That's amazing! You should meet my girlfriend Rinoa, she's a Sorceress." He said, impressed by Yuna's title. Yuna's eyes went wide. "Really? How did that happen?" She asked. Tidus laughed a little. "Yeah, how did you manage to get her to go out with you without scaring her away with your military training and all that serious stuff?" He joked. Squall glared at him but decided to ignore the comment. "It's a long story, I'll explain when I find my friends." He said. Just then an airship zoomed overhead, and Yuna waved her arms.
***
A few hours later, they were landing on Bikanel Island, about a mile away from the rebuilt Al Bhed Home. Yuna smiled at the sight of the island. Tidus looked at her, surprised. "How can you smile about all this sun and sand?" He asked. She rolled her eyes at him. "It's not all this I'm happy about, I'm just happyI'll get to see Rikku again." She explained. Tidus laughed. "Oh, you scared me there for a second." They started walking towards Home in good spirits. They came to the top of a hill, and looked out towards Home. They could see someone standing a little ways away, holding something in his hands. "Hey it's Sudit!" Tidus exclaimed as he started waving his hands and calling him. Sudit turned and looked at them standing on the hill. An evil grin spread over his face as he turned. Squall squinted, trying to see through the bright sun. "What's that he's holding?" He wondered aloud. Yuna squinted too. "Not what...who?" She corrected. Tidus stopped waving and looked too. All the color in his face drained and a look of fear came over him. "Oh no....it's Rikku!" He cried. Yuna and Squall turned to look at him. "What? You've got to be kidding!" Yuna exclaimed. Tidus' face turned to a scowl and he pulled out his sword. "I'll kill that son of a bitch!" He screamed as he started running down the hill. Sudit saw him and threw Rikku aside. He turned and faced the three of them as they ran down the hill towards him. He balled up his hands and a blue glow came over them. He raised them out in front of him and unballed them. They all stopped running and looked at it. "What the hell is that?" Squall exclaimed. Just then the balls hit them and they were knocked backwards and into the hill, where everything went black.
***
Tidus opened his eyes slowly, and looked around him. "Squall? Yuna? You guys alright?" He asked. They were still out cold so after he checked on them, he got up. He looked around, noticing that they were in the same area, but thought something was different. He looked around for Rikku....but instead found the charred and burning remins of Home. "No....Not again! How could he do this?" He cried angrily. He started running towards it to see if he could find anybody in there, but as he ran, he found Rikku laying on the ground, battered and bruised. "Rikku!" He yelled as he ran to her. He took her head in his arms and looked at her face. "Rikku? Are you ok? Speak to me!" He paniced. She moved her head a little and opened her eyes. "T...Tidus? Is that....you...?" She asked weakly . Tidus nodded. "It's ok, I'm here! What happened?" He asked. She tried to sit up at this point and Tidus helped her up. She sat on the ground and Tidus sat beside her. "Sudit...asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him, so we went out and he started beating me....I was too shocked to even defend myself. I'm surprised that I'm even alive." She explained. Tidus looked at her seriously. "Why did he do this? What's his problem?" He asked. Rikku looked at the ground. "I shouldn't have gone with him, I could see something was wrong, just by his eyes." She said softly. "Now my dad, my brother....everybody's gone." She started crying now. Tidus leaned over and hugged her tight. "It's ok Rikku, we'll get him for this. We gotta get you out of here." He said. Rikku continued to sob. "I loved him Tidus! I loved him and this is what he did to me!" She cried on his shoulder. Tidus pulled her away gently and picked her up, holding her in his arms. "It's ok now, I'm here for you Rikku. You're safe with me. I won't let him get away with this, I promise." She sobbed slightly still as she put her arms around his neck and rested on his shoulder. Just at this point Squall and Yuna walked up. "Rikku! What happened?" Yuna yelled. "Did that Sudit guy do this?" Squall asked. Tidus nodded. "Let her rest guys, we'll get her to explain everything later."
***
They took her back to the airship and started back for Besaid, cutting the honeymoon short just to make sure everyone was alright. "Why do we always have to fight?" Yuna asked. Squall had gone to bed and Rikku was being tended to by one of the crewmen. Tidus shrugged. "I don't really know, Yuna. I wish we could just live in peace." He said. They both stood on the deck and looked out at the moon. Yuna lowered her head and stared glumly at the floor. Tidus walked over to her and put his arm around her. "As long as we have each other, fighting or not, then we'll be ok." He said to her. She looked up. "I know, but I hate to see the ones we love getting hurt around us, you know?" She said. Tidus nodded and looked out at the moon again. "I know....I promise I'll get Sudit for this." He said angrily, making fists in rage. Yuna calmly put her hand over his, which relaxed him instantly. "Please Tidus, maybe it's not his fault, we don't know for certain." She pleaded. Tidus sighed. "Maybe you're right. I guess we'll just have to see." He said reluctantly. They both stood in silence again, just looked at each other. Tidus pulled Yuna closer to him. "Don't let me go." Yuna said soflty. Tidus sighed. "I'll never let you ago again, I promise." He said as he stroked her hair gently.
***
Later on, they both headed to their rooms to get some rest and to think of what had happened during the day. "I'm going to check on Rikku for a minute. She probably really needs someone right now." Tidus said. Yuna nodded. "Ok Tidus." She murmered as she drifted of to sleep. Tidus nodded and walked out into the hall. He walked past Squall's room and noticed that his door was open. He peeked inside and saw Squall sitting on his bed, looking at the floor. Tidus walked in and put his hand on the doorway. "Hey." He said softly. Squall looked up. "Hi Tidus." Squall said sadly. "Homesick?" He asked. Squall nodded a bit. "I miss my friends." He said. Tidus nodded. "I know how you feel. It really sucks when you're all alone." He agreed. Squall looked at him. "How's that Rikku girl doing?" He asked, concerned. "I'm going to see her now, she's really feeling bad I think, considering what's all happened to her." He said grimly. Squall looked at the floor again. "Who's that Sudit guy, Tidus? He looks kind of like you." He asked. Tidus looked away for a second, ashamed to even know him at this point. "I'll explain it some other time, I gotta go see Rikku." He said. "Goodnight Squall." He said as he walked out. "Yeah, night Tidus." He replied, wondering why he dodged the Sudit question.
***
Tidus peeked into Rikku's room. He saw that she had her back to him and she was crying softly. He walked over to her bed and crawled in. Rikku got scared and yelped in surprise. Tidus put his arms around her. "Shhh, it's just me Rikku." He said. She turned around to face him. He saw that she had been cleaned up, with bandages on her stomach and a small one on her cheek, but there were ugly bruises under her left eye and her cheek and on her stomach. "What are you doing here, what will Yuna...." Tidus put his finger on her lips. "She knows, I'm just here to stay with you for awhile." He explained. She leaned on her arm and looked at him. "Thank you Tidus, you've always been there for me." Her eyes seemed to sparkle again. "That's what friends are for." He said as he hugged her close. "I'm so sorry about Home, Rikku. I wish I could've got to it sooner..." He trailed off. Rikku shook her head sadly. "He's so strong...I dunno if you could've really done anything." She replied. Tidus sighed, realizing that she was right. They both lay there in silence for a minute when finally Rikku turned and looked at him. "Tidus?" She spoke up finally. "Yeah?" He replied. "Could you stay with me tonight? I just really need someone to be with me." She asked softly. Tidus turned and looked at her. "Sure thing, Rikku. I'll be here." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Get some sleep, ok?" He wrapped his arms around her and she slowly drifted off to sleep. "Tidus is she ok?" Yuna walked in just then. Tidus looked at her standing in the doorway. "Yeah, but she's taking it really hard." He said grimly. Yuna nodded. "You should probably stay here, she needs you." She said. Tidus nodded. "Are you sure?" He asked worredly. She nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, it's ok. Good night Tidus." She said as she walked out. "Yuna!" He called out to her. She stopped and turned around. "I love you." He said. She smiled at him and blew a kiss at him. "I love you too." And walked out of the room.
***
"Ok Zell, if you mention hot dogs one more time, I swear I'm gonna put this gun to your head and--" Irvine got cut off by Zell "--Shoot out hotdogs?" He retorted sarcastically. Irvine balled up his hands and growled with rage. "Zell, I think instead of looking for food I'm gonna eat you!" He snarled. Zell pinched his arm. "No point in that, no fat on me." He retorted. "Shut up you two, we seriously gotta find some food!" Quistis snapped at them. They both shut up and sat in silence. "Where's Rinoa? We should go get her so we can get moving." Quistis said. Zell got up quickly. "I'll go find her, she told me she was goin for a walk to find some food." He ran off into the woods. Irvine got up too and walked over to Selphie. "Well, since it looks like we're gonna starve to death, we might as well make use of our last days together, right Selph?" He winked at her. Selphie rolled her eyes at him. "Irvy, this isn't really the time, we're gonna get outta this! Don't be such a pervert, that's super gross!" She shoved him away. Irvine sagged his shoulders and went back to his spot. Just then Zell cme back with Rinoa. She walked with her head down and a sad look on her face. "How are you doing Rinoa?" Quistis asked, although she could already tell. Rinoa shrugged slightly. "I miss Squall so much. I just wish I knew that he was ok." She said. Zell waved his hand. "Hey, don't worry, Squall's the man, he'll be alright." He tried to cheer her up, but it didn't really seem to work. "I know...but I still miss him." She complained. Quistis got up and brushed herself off. "Well, we better get going, maybe we'll run into Squall or something." She said as she started walking off towards the trees again. Everyone began to leave, but Rinoa stayed behind for a minute. She looked up at the sky in sadness and thought about Squall. "Please Squall....please be alright. I'll find you soon, I promise." She said softly. "Rinoa, let's go!" Quistis yelled from ahead. Rinoa broke into a run and followed.
Author's Note:Here it is, what could possibly be the last chapter. Don't make it so, review it and prove to me that there's actually someone interested in this story.
Well, it seems that nobody's interested in this story which really sucks :(
If nobody responds after this chapter then I guess I'm gonna have to do what I was hoping I wouldn't have to...which would be to stop this story and remove it and forget it ever happened. I'm begging you all, I really love this story and I hate to stop something that I've already started. Please don't force me to end it like this!
Anyways enough begging and pleading, here comes the next chapter. You guys decide whether its the last one or not.
DISCLAIMER:All characters and names associated with Final Fantasy X and VIII belong to SquareSoft.
"Well, since we haven't been able to find them in the immediate area, I think we should probably use the airship and go get Rikku to help us." Tidus said. Yuna nodded and Squall scratched his head. "Who's Rikku?" He turned to Tidus. Tidus pointed at Yuna. "My best friend and Yuna's cousin, she's an Al Bhed." He explained. Squall nodded. He had heard of the Al Bhed but had never met one yet. "So how are we gonna get to Luca?" Tidus asked. Yuna smiled and reached into her shirt. "I came prepared." She grinned as she pulled out a little beacon and she pushed the button on the top of it. A red light started flashing on the top and it made a beeping noise. "What was the point of that?" Tidus asked. "It's a beacon for the airship, so the closest airship in the area can come get me." She explained. "Being a High Summoner has it's advantages." She added. Squall was impressed. "Wait a minute....I heard of you destrying Sin...but I've never heard of a living High Summoner. That's amazing! You should meet my girlfriend Rinoa, she's a Sorceress." He said, impressed by Yuna's title. Yuna's eyes went wide. "Really? How did that happen?" She asked. Tidus laughed a little. "Yeah, how did you manage to get her to go out with you without scaring her away with your military training and all that serious stuff?" He joked. Squall glared at him but decided to ignore the comment. "It's a long story, I'll explain when I find my friends." He said. Just then an airship zoomed overhead, and Yuna waved her arms.
***
A few hours later, they were landing on Bikanel Island, about a mile away from the rebuilt Al Bhed Home. Yuna smiled at the sight of the island. Tidus looked at her, surprised. "How can you smile about all this sun and sand?" He asked. She rolled her eyes at him. "It's not all this I'm happy about, I'm just happyI'll get to see Rikku again." She explained. Tidus laughed. "Oh, you scared me there for a second." They started walking towards Home in good spirits. They came to the top of a hill, and looked out towards Home. They could see someone standing a little ways away, holding something in his hands. "Hey it's Sudit!" Tidus exclaimed as he started waving his hands and calling him. Sudit turned and looked at them standing on the hill. An evil grin spread over his face as he turned. Squall squinted, trying to see through the bright sun. "What's that he's holding?" He wondered aloud. Yuna squinted too. "Not what...who?" She corrected. Tidus stopped waving and looked too. All the color in his face drained and a look of fear came over him. "Oh no....it's Rikku!" He cried. Yuna and Squall turned to look at him. "What? You've got to be kidding!" Yuna exclaimed. Tidus' face turned to a scowl and he pulled out his sword. "I'll kill that son of a bitch!" He screamed as he started running down the hill. Sudit saw him and threw Rikku aside. He turned and faced the three of them as they ran down the hill towards him. He balled up his hands and a blue glow came over them. He raised them out in front of him and unballed them. They all stopped running and looked at it. "What the hell is that?" Squall exclaimed. Just then the balls hit them and they were knocked backwards and into the hill, where everything went black.
***
Tidus opened his eyes slowly, and looked around him. "Squall? Yuna? You guys alright?" He asked. They were still out cold so after he checked on them, he got up. He looked around, noticing that they were in the same area, but thought something was different. He looked around for Rikku....but instead found the charred and burning remins of Home. "No....Not again! How could he do this?" He cried angrily. He started running towards it to see if he could find anybody in there, but as he ran, he found Rikku laying on the ground, battered and bruised. "Rikku!" He yelled as he ran to her. He took her head in his arms and looked at her face. "Rikku? Are you ok? Speak to me!" He paniced. She moved her head a little and opened her eyes. "T...Tidus? Is that....you...?" She asked weakly . Tidus nodded. "It's ok, I'm here! What happened?" He asked. She tried to sit up at this point and Tidus helped her up. She sat on the ground and Tidus sat beside her. "Sudit...asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him, so we went out and he started beating me....I was too shocked to even defend myself. I'm surprised that I'm even alive." She explained. Tidus looked at her seriously. "Why did he do this? What's his problem?" He asked. Rikku looked at the ground. "I shouldn't have gone with him, I could see something was wrong, just by his eyes." She said softly. "Now my dad, my brother....everybody's gone." She started crying now. Tidus leaned over and hugged her tight. "It's ok Rikku, we'll get him for this. We gotta get you out of here." He said. Rikku continued to sob. "I loved him Tidus! I loved him and this is what he did to me!" She cried on his shoulder. Tidus pulled her away gently and picked her up, holding her in his arms. "It's ok now, I'm here for you Rikku. You're safe with me. I won't let him get away with this, I promise." She sobbed slightly still as she put her arms around his neck and rested on his shoulder. Just at this point Squall and Yuna walked up. "Rikku! What happened?" Yuna yelled. "Did that Sudit guy do this?" Squall asked. Tidus nodded. "Let her rest guys, we'll get her to explain everything later."
***
They took her back to the airship and started back for Besaid, cutting the honeymoon short just to make sure everyone was alright. "Why do we always have to fight?" Yuna asked. Squall had gone to bed and Rikku was being tended to by one of the crewmen. Tidus shrugged. "I don't really know, Yuna. I wish we could just live in peace." He said. They both stood on the deck and looked out at the moon. Yuna lowered her head and stared glumly at the floor. Tidus walked over to her and put his arm around her. "As long as we have each other, fighting or not, then we'll be ok." He said to her. She looked up. "I know, but I hate to see the ones we love getting hurt around us, you know?" She said. Tidus nodded and looked out at the moon again. "I know....I promise I'll get Sudit for this." He said angrily, making fists in rage. Yuna calmly put her hand over his, which relaxed him instantly. "Please Tidus, maybe it's not his fault, we don't know for certain." She pleaded. Tidus sighed. "Maybe you're right. I guess we'll just have to see." He said reluctantly. They both stood in silence again, just looked at each other. Tidus pulled Yuna closer to him. "Don't let me go." Yuna said soflty. Tidus sighed. "I'll never let you ago again, I promise." He said as he stroked her hair gently.
***
Later on, they both headed to their rooms to get some rest and to think of what had happened during the day. "I'm going to check on Rikku for a minute. She probably really needs someone right now." Tidus said. Yuna nodded. "Ok Tidus." She murmered as she drifted of to sleep. Tidus nodded and walked out into the hall. He walked past Squall's room and noticed that his door was open. He peeked inside and saw Squall sitting on his bed, looking at the floor. Tidus walked in and put his hand on the doorway. "Hey." He said softly. Squall looked up. "Hi Tidus." Squall said sadly. "Homesick?" He asked. Squall nodded a bit. "I miss my friends." He said. Tidus nodded. "I know how you feel. It really sucks when you're all alone." He agreed. Squall looked at him. "How's that Rikku girl doing?" He asked, concerned. "I'm going to see her now, she's really feeling bad I think, considering what's all happened to her." He said grimly. Squall looked at the floor again. "Who's that Sudit guy, Tidus? He looks kind of like you." He asked. Tidus looked away for a second, ashamed to even know him at this point. "I'll explain it some other time, I gotta go see Rikku." He said. "Goodnight Squall." He said as he walked out. "Yeah, night Tidus." He replied, wondering why he dodged the Sudit question.
***
Tidus peeked into Rikku's room. He saw that she had her back to him and she was crying softly. He walked over to her bed and crawled in. Rikku got scared and yelped in surprise. Tidus put his arms around her. "Shhh, it's just me Rikku." He said. She turned around to face him. He saw that she had been cleaned up, with bandages on her stomach and a small one on her cheek, but there were ugly bruises under her left eye and her cheek and on her stomach. "What are you doing here, what will Yuna...." Tidus put his finger on her lips. "She knows, I'm just here to stay with you for awhile." He explained. She leaned on her arm and looked at him. "Thank you Tidus, you've always been there for me." Her eyes seemed to sparkle again. "That's what friends are for." He said as he hugged her close. "I'm so sorry about Home, Rikku. I wish I could've got to it sooner..." He trailed off. Rikku shook her head sadly. "He's so strong...I dunno if you could've really done anything." She replied. Tidus sighed, realizing that she was right. They both lay there in silence for a minute when finally Rikku turned and looked at him. "Tidus?" She spoke up finally. "Yeah?" He replied. "Could you stay with me tonight? I just really need someone to be with me." She asked softly. Tidus turned and looked at her. "Sure thing, Rikku. I'll be here." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Get some sleep, ok?" He wrapped his arms around her and she slowly drifted off to sleep. "Tidus is she ok?" Yuna walked in just then. Tidus looked at her standing in the doorway. "Yeah, but she's taking it really hard." He said grimly. Yuna nodded. "You should probably stay here, she needs you." She said. Tidus nodded. "Are you sure?" He asked worredly. She nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, it's ok. Good night Tidus." She said as she walked out. "Yuna!" He called out to her. She stopped and turned around. "I love you." He said. She smiled at him and blew a kiss at him. "I love you too." And walked out of the room.
***
"Ok Zell, if you mention hot dogs one more time, I swear I'm gonna put this gun to your head and--" Irvine got cut off by Zell "--Shoot out hotdogs?" He retorted sarcastically. Irvine balled up his hands and growled with rage. "Zell, I think instead of looking for food I'm gonna eat you!" He snarled. Zell pinched his arm. "No point in that, no fat on me." He retorted. "Shut up you two, we seriously gotta find some food!" Quistis snapped at them. They both shut up and sat in silence. "Where's Rinoa? We should go get her so we can get moving." Quistis said. Zell got up quickly. "I'll go find her, she told me she was goin for a walk to find some food." He ran off into the woods. Irvine got up too and walked over to Selphie. "Well, since it looks like we're gonna starve to death, we might as well make use of our last days together, right Selph?" He winked at her. Selphie rolled her eyes at him. "Irvy, this isn't really the time, we're gonna get outta this! Don't be such a pervert, that's super gross!" She shoved him away. Irvine sagged his shoulders and went back to his spot. Just then Zell cme back with Rinoa. She walked with her head down and a sad look on her face. "How are you doing Rinoa?" Quistis asked, although she could already tell. Rinoa shrugged slightly. "I miss Squall so much. I just wish I knew that he was ok." She said. Zell waved his hand. "Hey, don't worry, Squall's the man, he'll be alright." He tried to cheer her up, but it didn't really seem to work. "I know...but I still miss him." She complained. Quistis got up and brushed herself off. "Well, we better get going, maybe we'll run into Squall or something." She said as she started walking off towards the trees again. Everyone began to leave, but Rinoa stayed behind for a minute. She looked up at the sky in sadness and thought about Squall. "Please Squall....please be alright. I'll find you soon, I promise." She said softly. "Rinoa, let's go!" Quistis yelled from ahead. Rinoa broke into a run and followed.
Author's Note:Here it is, what could possibly be the last chapter. Don't make it so, review it and prove to me that there's actually someone interested in this story.